Bittersweet
by Hopelessly Devoted to Romance
Summary: Susan Bones is very broken by the time the war is over. She hates life for taking everything away—but really, she hates everyone for leaving her— One-shot.


Hey! It's Hopelessly Devoted to Romance. This little one-shot was just begging to be written. It stars in my own universe of the aftermath of Deathly Hallows. I adhere to cannon, but I've taken a few liberties with JK Rowling's universe and just added a little bit of my own imagination to it. Because JK Rowling didn't tell us the names of Edgar Bones' wife and children and Susan Bones' parents, I made up my own names for them. This writing style is also a little different for me. I'm kind of experimenting. I'm really proud of the way this turned out though. I feel kind of sad for what I did to Susan though.

I've revised and fixed errors. Thanks Smartest Girl in the World!

Summary: Susan Bones is very broken by the time the war is over. She hates life for taking everything away—but really, she hates everyone for leaving her— One-shot.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

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Susan Bones is very broken by the time the war is over.

—_she knows she can't be fixed—_

She has no one. Every single member of her family died because of _Voldemort_. Every single one. Her grandparents. Uncle Edgar. Aunt Camille. Cousin Mary. Cousin Victoria. Cousin Henry. Aunt Amelia. Her parents. All dead. She has no one left and she can't help but wish bitterly she were dead too.

—_she hates them for leaving her—_

The first few months she drank to numb the pain. She's always hated Firewhiskey, but still she downs bottle after bottle. When she drinks, she can pretend that everything is alright. When she drinks, she can pretend she knew her grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousins. When she drinks, she can pretend her Aunt Amelia and parents are still with her. When she drinks, she can pretend her boyfriend didn't die. When she drinks, she can pretend that there was no war. When she drinks, she can pretend that she isn't all alone. So she drinks and drinks, ignoring the burning of her throat because it helps her forget.

—_she thinks the liquor is bitter... just like her—_

She stops drinking when Hannah, sweet, innocent Hannah, yells at her. Hannah says she sees how Susan is slowly killing herself. Hannah says she lost her mum and that they both lost Justin

—_Susan can't help but feel that she had it worst because she lost every member of her family and Justin was her boyfriend, not Hannah's_—

and Hannah says she doesn't want to lose Susan too. Hannah is breaking down so Susan stops drinking for Hannah's sake.

—_she wants to drink herself to death—_

But it's so hard for Susan. Everyone seems to be moving on. Everyone except for her.

—_What's wrong with her? Why can't she let go?—_

She cries and cries every day without fail until she has no more tears left. When that happens, Susan can hardly get out of bed.

—_she's lost the will to live—_

Hannah and Ernie are concerned for Susan. They take care of her, always visiting her flat and making sure she's eating. Susan knows she should feel guilty

—_she knows the old Susan would've—_

but she can't bring herself to care. She's too depressed and heartbroken.

One day, Susan can't take it anymore. London is _suffocating._ London is _painful_. London holds bad memories. So she leaves. She leaves her friends, possessions, and memories behind. She leaves Susan Bones and all the ghosts of her past.

—_she still feels haunted by them—_

She feels freer in America. Less broken. There are no ghosts in America, not figuratively speaking anyway. There's nothing to remind of her of her old home and all that she's lost.

—_she still cries sometimes—_

She falls in love with a Muggle named Preston Blake. Preston is blond and wild and he makes her forget about Justin

—_she can't help but feel like she's betraying him_—

when he kisses her. Justin was her first love, but Preston is her _true _love.

—_so why can't she ignore that gnawing feeling she gets?—_

When Susan finds out she's pregnant, she's terrified.

—_why can't it be Justin's baby?—_

She and Preston aren't even married yet.

—_Justin would've married her before they had sex—_

But Preston is thrilled and buys a bigger house for them.

—_she wanted a ring—_

Susan has twins, a boy and a girl. She names them Jordan and Allyson.

—_she wanted to name them Richard Justin, after her dad and boyfriend, and Catherine Amelia, after her mum and aunt—_

They have the trademark Bones dark blue eyes.

—_she doesn't know whether to feel proud that she's passing on the legacy or feel sad and cry—_

She loves her little Jordan and Ally but she worries about how she'll be able to keep her witch being a secret if they turn out magical.

—_she wouldn't have to worry if Justin were still alive—_

Susan tries not to be hurt when Preston laughs if she asks him if they'll ever be married. He says he doesn't need a silly certificate to prove his love for her.

—_she wouldn't have had to ask Justin—_

When the twins are five, Susan is pregnant again. Preston wants to name the baby Amelia because he's always liked that name.

—_Susan wants to cry—_

Not long after that, the twins' signs of magic get to be too much

—_she can't even bring herself to feel proud—_

and she is forced to explain to Preston. He doesn't take it well. He yells and calls her and the twins unusual. He says he wants nothing to do with them. When he leaves, Susan feels heartbroken.

—_Justin would never have left her—_

She tries to be strong for the twins who grow quiet and withdrawn.

—_she's failed them as a mother—_

When she goes into labor, it is slow and painful. Finally the baby is in her arms. But something is wrong and Karen Bones dies in her arms that same hour.

—_she cries for the first time in years—_

America holds just as much pain as England does. But she has friends who could help her out in England, so she moves back to her old home with the twins.

—_that place hasn't been home for a long time—_

Her friends are relieved to hear from her. Ernie, Zacharias, and Hannah help out as much as they can. They all have children though. Ernie is married and has a boy and girl a couple years older than the twins and Zacharias has a boy the twins' age. Hannah is married to _Neville Longbottom_ and has three kids.

—_she is jealous of Hannah and her perfect family—_

Susan feels slightly bitter. Everyone ends up deserting her.

—_she wonders when Jordan and Ally will—_

Susan Bones is not even thirty, but she wants to die. She feels empty and hollow.

—_she thinks this is what a person who's been kissed by a Dementor feels like—_

Life wasn't fair. It gave only to take away. It took everything away from her. First her grandparents and her uncle and his family. Then Aunt Amelia, her parents, Justin. Then Preston and Karen.

—_they weren't supposed to leave her—_


End file.
